D.C. bars treat presidential debates like Stanley Cup finals viewing parties, with happy hour specials flowing and sound from the TVs replacing the jukebox. At the same time, is it funny or sad that both Union Pub and Dirty Water have chosen a variation of “Here we go again” to advertise their Thursday night events?
Washington, D.C
Where to watch the first Biden-Trump presidential debate in D.C.
If you don’t want to watch in your living room — or can’t bear the thought of watching alone — these bars offer everything from drinking games to half-price drinks.
The restaurant/bar/bookstore is showing the debate at all eight of its locations. The programs vary slightly: The Busboys in Mount Vernon Triangle includes a post-debate discussion with former Ohio state senator Nina Turner, the co-chair of Bernie Sanders’s 2020 presidential campaign; the branch at 14th and V NW offers a discussion about the proposed ranked-choice voting ballot amendment in D.C.; and other restaurants feature open-mic poetry before the debate. Locations and times vary.
For $25, get unlimited Bud Light, Shock Top and Hoop Tea drafts; Yuengling bottles; Miller Lite cans; and rail drinks at the H Street NE sports bar from 7 p.m. until the end of the debate.
D.C.’s first LGBTQ-owned brewery offers happy hour pricing during the debate, including for its own Dissent Hazy IPA, rums from St. Michaels’s Lyon distilling and Mount Defiance’s Smoked Virginia Whiskey. Specials begin at 9 p.m.
The Red Derby — recently voted one of the top five dive bars in the D.C. area — offers two different experiences Thursday. Downstairs, the debate is streaming on the projection screen, while customers drink $3 PBRs and $3.50 shots of house tequila or whiskey, or snack on half-price grilled cheese. Upstairs on the roof deck, it’s business as usual, and blissfully politics-free. Specials run all night.
Shaw’s Tavern has made a name for itself as a place to go for D.C. political theater, opening early for congressional testimony and confirmation hearings. All tables are already reserved for the debate viewing party on Florida Avenue NW, but there will be bar stools and standing room available for walk-ins. Bottles of wine are half-price all night. Seating begins at 7:30 p.m.
Union Pub, located steps from Senate office buildings, boasts that it’s “busier during the State of the Union address than major sporting events.” On Thursday, it’s offering a debate drinking game; a “drink poll” that encourages customers to order red or blue vodka drinks to see which is more popular; and a plethora of drink specials including $4 house beers and $4 shots, discounted pints and pitchers of Yuengling and Pacifico, and $22 buckets of Bud Light. For groups, the bar is keeping its $340 “Guilty Pleasure Platter” that’s recommended for 12, with 34 wings, platters of totchos and mini corn dogs, a dozen sliders, 12 house beers, 12 “Orange Shots” and 12 mystery beers. Specials begin at 6 p.m.